Thanksgiving
by JC HOYT
Summary: The gang spends Thanksgiving together
1. Default Chapter

It was almost Thanksgiving and Jordan's mood was quite cheery because this was a time of year she actually had fond memories of her mother.  
  
She and her Dad always spent Thanksgiving together, making a big feast even if it was just for the two of them, doing things exactly the way her mother had done. It had become a Cavanaugh tradition.  
  
A few days before Thanksgiving, the gang was all at the Pogue. Max smiled brightly when he saw Woody enter. "Hey kid! how are ya?"  
  
"Hi Max" Woody said glumly.  
  
"Uh oh, what's wrong son? Don't tell me it's my daughter again, do I have to have a little talk with her?"  
  
Woody smiled; Max had become his ally in the fight for Jordan's affections.  
  
"No, not this time. It's just I thought I would be going to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving but we're short handed at the station so I only have Thanksgiving day off"  
  
Max nodded in understanding "Yep, I know all about the sacrifices of being a cop around the holidays kid, I missed birthdays, anniversaries, and just about any holiday you can think of"  
  
Nigel and Bug entered next looking as equally sullen and made their way to the bar to join Woody.  
  
"Hey Max" they said somberly in unison.  
  
"Well what's the matter with you two?"  
  
"We both had family coming in from out of town for Thanksgiving but our plans fell through" Nigel explained.  
  
"Seems to be going around" Woody sympathized.  
  
Garrett and Lily walked in next, hand in hand. Good, Max thought at least there will be someone in a good mood.  
  
"So what are you guy's up to for Thanksgiving?" Max asked first.  
  
"Oh it's just going to be us, seems Abby doesn't want to spend any time with her father because of me" Lily said annoyed at her bratiness.  
  
"Daughter's can be difficult" Max agreed.  
  
Jordan narrowed her eyes at him and smiled "I don't know what you're talking about"  
  
"What about your family Lily?" Woody asked.  
  
"Please, I run from Lebowski family gatherings, there's always one of my mother's "friend's" there and that causes an argument between her and my brother then my brother gets mad at me for not caring, then there's another argument about my brother not having direction in his life and why cant he just work in the family business? And then she turns on me for working in a morgue, how am I going to find a man in a morgue? She asks, but now there is Garrett who is apparently just using me for sex, according to my mother"  
  
Everyone just stared at her, not really knowing how to respond to her rant.  
  
"Jordan, table 12 jut left, why don't you help me clear it?" Max asked raising his eyebrows to indicate he wanted to talk to her, away from the gang.  
  
"What's up dad?" Jordan asked when they got away from them.  
  
"How would you feel about inviting everyone to spend Thanksgiving with us? They're practically family anyway and all their plans fell through, so I thought it would be nice for us all to be together"  
  
Jordan looked over at her friends and smiled "Yeah, I think I would like that"  
  
They headed back over to the group "Jordan and I were wondering if you all would like to join us for Thanksgiving" Max invited.  
  
They all looked at each other "Come on, Dad and I always spend Thanksgiving together and we always make a ridiculous amount of food, we'd love to have you join the Cavanaugh tradition, well another Cavanaugh tradition" she grinned.  
  
" 


	2. Traditions and bets

"I didn't know Thanksgiving was such a big deal in the Cavanaugh house." Woody said as Jordan took a seat next to him.  
  
"Yeah it's actually one holiday, or any day for that matter that I have happy memories of my mom" she smiled sadly and looked down.  
  
Woody took her chin in his hand, which caused her eyes to meet his. "Are you sure you want us all to be there then? It seems like it's kind of special for you and your dad"  
  
She took his hand in hers "Yeah but Woody, you guys are all our family now"  
  
Woody smiled brightly at what she had said; she had said he was her family. She smiled at him and his silly grin and started to walk away. He grabbed her around the waist "Hey wait, Jordan, when you say that you think of me as family, do you mean like family like a brother or like family like someone you love?" He teased with an adorable grin. She just smiled back at him and shook her head, smacking him playfully on the arm before walking away.  
  
"You know we always had a big, family Thanksgiving back home and one of our traditions is to play a game of football" Woody announced.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" Nigel agreed excitedly.  
  
"Unless of course you're afraid of getting tackled" Woody whispered into Jordan's ear" She smirked at him in response.  
  
"I have an idea, why don't we all pick a tradition from our own families' Thanksgiving and incorporate it into this family's Thanksgiving" Lily piped in.  
  
"I like that idea Lily, okay everybody needs to think of something they want to do" Max announced. Garrett hugged her close and smiled at her. Lily smiled back, proud of her idea and happy that she and Garrett would now have their own Thanksgiving.  
  
"Hey Jordan, how about a side-bet? You like competition" Woody asked.  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him but decided to play along "What did you have in mind Hoyt?"  
  
"We'll play against each other and if I win, you have to kiss me. I'm not talking about one of those little peck kisses like we've done before, I'm talking a real, open mouthed, tongue touching, make you tingle kind of kiss"  
  
Jordan rolled her eyes "What makes you think you could make me tingle?" she asked  
  
"Oh you'll tingle" Woody whispered teasingly into her ear.  
  
"Well how could I say no to that?" she asked sarcastically.  
  
"Are you scared?" he mocked.  
  
"Scared of what?" she laughed.  
  
"Me" Woody said moving to stand in front of her.  
  
She pushed him out of the way "No I'm not scared of you, I'll accept your bet, but what do I get if I win?"  
  
"You get to pick what you want"  
  
"And you'll do whatever I want?" she asked teasingly running her hand across his chest and stepping in front of him now.  
  
He smiled and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist and leaned in to whisper, "That's right, whatever you want"  
  
"You want to know what I want Woody?" she asked putting her arms around his shoulders.  
  
"What's that?" he squeaked, swallowing hard, trying to control his excitement.  
  
She smiled, knowing she had him right where she wanted. She leaned in closer, just inches from his lips. "Well I'd want you to stay at my apartment all night" she said moving in even closer, gently brushing her lips against his "cleaning" she finished her sentence with a evil grin and backed away from him, laughing.  
  
"You're mean!" he pouted which caused her to laugh even more. 


	3. Teaming up

Jordan wiped the tears out of her eyes that had formed there after her uncontrollable fit of laughter at Woody's expense.  
  
"Yeah well you wont be laughing when I win this bet and you have to pay up" Woody smirked.  
  
"I don't know Woodrow, I might be laughing if paying up means I have to kiss you" Jordan teased still laughing.  
  
Woody pouted but Jordan was having way too much fun to stop messing with him just yet.  
  
"You know farm boy, you could have had any thing you wanted if you won this bet and you picked a kiss."  
  
He nodded, not seeing where she was going.  
  
"If it was me, I would have gone for sex" she smiled devilishly.  
  
Woody took a long sip of his beer, trying not to let her get to him.  
  
"Yeah? So that's the bet?" he asked cunningly, turning her own joke around on her.  
  
Jordan looked at him slightly confused.  
  
"If I win, you have to kiss me. But if you win then we have to have sex" he smiled teasingly.  
  
"What? That is not what I said and you know it!" Jordan insisted.  
  
"That's what I heard" Woody persisted.  
  
"Fine, if you would really want us to have sex on a bet, that will be the bet" Jordan tried guilting him out of it.  
  
Woody pretended to think it over. "Okay, it's a bet. I sure hope I don't lose" Woody said sarcastically before walking away proudly.  
  
Jordan buried her face in her hands "Oh crap"  
  
The gang gathered at Max's house early the next morning to have their football game.  
  
"To make it fair, Jordan and Woody will pick their team's out of a hat" Max instructed holding out the hat to them.  
  
Jordan and Woody looked at each other expectantly, wondering who would go first.  
  
"Coin toss?" Jordan offered.  
  
Woody nodded in agreement.  
  
"Call it" Jordan instructed as Max tossed the coin in the air.  
  
"Heads" Woody called out.  
  
Max uncovered the coin and read it as "tails, Jordan picks first"  
  
Jordan smiled triumphantly.  
  
She reached into the hat and pulled out a name "Lily"  
  
Lily scooted over to Jordan's side "Yeah, that's right, the girls kick ass" she said high fiving Jordan.  
  
Woody just smiled, pleased at her first teammate. He reached in and picked out Garrett.  
  
The teams ended up as Jordan, Lily, Max and Nigel against Woody, Garrett, Bug and Peter.  
  
They set their boundaries, went over the rules and got ready to start their game.  
  
Woody came over to Jordan "Good luck" he smiled sincerely and held out his hand for her to shake. "Thanks but you're the one whose going to need it" Jordan responded.  
  
Woody leaned in to whisper in her ear "I figure either way I win" he smiled. She pushed him away annoyed. He laughed and returned to his team.  
  
The teams lined up in the middle of their field. "Alright, we need another con toss for possession of the ball" Max said.  
  
"Nah, that's alright, you guys take it" Woody offered.  
  
On the first play Woody tackled Jordan to the ground. He lingered there a while on top of her. She just laughed and pushed him off.  
  
Nigel and Bug just looked at each other "I thought this was touch football" Bug questioned. "I think it is for the rest of us, but they've got their own game going on," Nigel answered. 


	4. Game On

Everyone was really enjoying the game; they were all getting into the competition building between Woody and Jordan. The game was tied 21 all late in the fourth quarter. Jordan's team had possession of the ball but it was third down and Woody's team had repeatedly stopped them before they'd even made it to mid-field.  
  
"What's the matter Jordan? It seems you guys can't get the ball past us" Woody teased Jordan as he set up the ball for the next play.  
  
"Maybe we're not trying to get the ball past you" Jordan smirked.  
  
Woody just stared back at her, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Well that's stupid, why wouldn't you be trying to get the ball past us? If you don't score, you can't win," he said matter of factly, trying to call her bluff.  
  
"Exactly my point" she said smiling triumphantly.  
  
"Wait.huh?" He squeaked in confusion.  
  
"See the game is almost over and it's a tie, so if neither team scores it remains a tie and nobody wins, no winner means more importantly no winner of the bet"  
  
"No way Jordan! If nobody scores and the clock runs out, its automatic overtime. What kind of football are you playing?" Woody said annoyed that Jordan was trying to find a way to back out.  
  
"I don't think so Woody, we went over the rules before the game started and there was nothing about overtime talked about! You can't just make up the rules as you go to your benefit!" she protested.  
  
"What are you talking about? I'm not making anything up! Those are standard football rules that everybody knows, would you guys tell her?" He said to no one in particular, looking for some help.  
  
"Well Woody's right, normally in football when there is a tie at the end of the game, the game does go into overtime" Max answered.  
  
"Ha!" Woody snorted in Jordan's face.  
  
"But." Max started to say.  
  
"But? What but? Those are the rules Max, you just said so yourself" Woody questioned.  
  
"Yes, those are the rules but Jordan's right too, we went over our rules before the game started and we didn't have an overtime rule" Max corrected"  
  
"Ughhhhhhh!" Woody sighed in frustration and walked away.  
  
"So what do we do now?" Garrett asked.  
  
Woody stomped back over to the group "Nothing, we do nothing, it's obvious Jordan's just trying to find an excuse to back out so let's just call it a tie and get back to our fun filled holiday together" Woody said angrily and sarcastically.  
  
Jordan stormed over to him and poked him angrily in the chest. "Listen here Hoyt, I am not trying to back out of anything! Do you think I'm afraid of you? Get the ball!"  
  
Everyone else just stood around looking at them, not really wanting to get involved in their feud.  
  
"Come on!" Jordan screamed at them.  
  
"Okay, but so this doesn't go on all day, let's say next one to score wins" Garrett suggested, trying to end the game as quickly as possible before Jordan got into full blown war mode.  
  
"Deal" Woody and Jordan said in unison.  
  
"Who gets the ball?" Lily asked tentatively.  
  
"We had it last so they can have it" Jordan answered.  
  
"We can HAVE it? Nuh-uh, we'll flip for it so it will be fair, you're not giving me anything!" Woody said.  
  
They flipped and Woody's team did win possession of the ball.  
  
They started the play and Jordan's team stopped them three times before they'd gotten 20 yards.  
  
"Fourth down" Jordan smirked.  
  
Woody narrowed his eyes at her and called his team into a huddle. "Okay guys, this is our last chance, we have to score. We'll fake like we're giving Peter the ball then I'll actually throw it to Bug, they'll never expect that"  
  
"Thanks, your confidence in me is inspiring" Bug said sourly and rolled his eyes at Woody.  
  
"You have to catch the ball," Woody said seriously.  
  
"Pressure's on Bug, show us what you've got" Peter said playfully smacking Bug on the shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, let's get this over with" Bug said unexcitedly.  
  
Garrett snapped the ball to Woody who faked like he handed it off to Peter. . Everyone ran after Peter. Woody dropped back with the ball and looked to Bug who had made it to the end zone. Bug watched nervously as the ball floated through the air towards him. He extended his arms and.... 


	5. Winners and Losers

"Holy shit! He caught it! He actually caught the ball!" Peter yelled excitedly.  
  
"We won! We won!" Woody cheered happily as he and the rest of the team charged towards Bug who was just standing there staring at the ball in disbelief, even he was surprised that he had scored a touchdown and that they had won the game.  
  
Peter and Garrett had made their way over to Bug first and they hoisted him up in the air and screamed and cheered in celebration.  
  
Woody ran over to join them and grabbed Bug up into a big bear hug. "Bug, you're my hero!"  
  
Max, Lily and Nigel were all being good sports about their loss and came over to congratulate their opponents on their win.  
  
Woody shook their hands and said "good game" to everyone. Then he noticed that Jordan wasn't among the group.  
  
He turned to see her standing with her hands on her hips, scowling.  
  
He couldn't help but smile at her anger. He knew she had quite the attitude but she never really looked mean to him, it was just kind of cute but he wouldn't dare tell her that.  
  
"What's wrong?" he teased  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him, tying to perfect her mean face. "Fine Woody, you won alright? I have to kiss you, so let's just get this over with," she said moving towards him.  
  
"Well that's not very romantic," he complained.  
  
"Romantic? Are you kidding me? We're kissing on a bet, there's nothing romantic about it!"  
  
"Hey, I wouldn't be acting like this if you had won" Woody said beaming.  
  
"Yeah, no kidding! If you had won we would have had to sleep together!" Jordan exclaimed rolling her eyes at him.  
  
He laughed heartily as she stomped away angrily.  
  
They all went and got cleaned up before dinner. Then Jordan instructed them all to go and take a seat in the dining room and have a drink while she and Max finished up.  
  
Woody offered his help. They got everything done and she sent Max out with the turkey.  
  
"So you ready for me to pay up?" Jordan asked.  
  
He didn't answer, he just stood there staring into her eyes, desperately wanting to kiss her.  
  
She leaned up to kiss him but he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her before her lips reached his.  
  
She opened her eyes and looked at him confused, searching his face for an explanation.  
  
"As much as I would love to kiss you, I want you to want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you, not because I'm making you do it" he said taking her cheek in his hand.  
  
He turned to walk away but she grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her.  
  
She brought his face down to meet hers without saying a word and kissed him gently. She moaned lightly as their tongues met. They kissed passionately, she grabbed onto his shoulders when she began to feel weak in the knees. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and pulled her closer to him as they continued their kiss.  
  
"Jor.. Max started to say as he walked in to call Jordan and Woody to the table. Jordan waved him away, not wanting to leave Woody's arms or this amazing kiss.  
  
Max smiled and returned to the table. "They'll be in in a minute," he said with a huge grin that made everyone wonder what was so amusing. 


	6. Giving Thanks

Everyone kept their eyes curiously on Max as he took a seat at the table with a goofy grin on his face that just wouldn't seem to go away.  
  
The door opened and in came Jordan and Woody, both looking a little disheveled. Everyone's gaze turned to them.  
  
Woody set the mashed potatoes down on the table and caught everyone staring at him.  
  
"What?" he asked self consciously as he ran a hand through his mussed hair.  
  
Nigel smiled brightly "You've got a bit of lipstick on your mouth there mate" he said chuckling.  
  
Woody wiped his mouth with the back of his hand quickly and looked at Jordan.  
  
"Not exactly your best poker face there Hoyt!" Max said between chuckles. Everyone burst out laughing, including Jordan.  
  
Woody's face was beet red with embarrassment but when he saw everyone else laughing, he couldn't help but smile. Jordan reached for his hand and gave it a little squeeze. He looked down at their entwined hands then looked up and smiled at her. She smiled back and leaned over and kissed him lightly on the mouth. He looked at her quizzically, surprised that she was even kissing him again, let alone in front of everyone.  
  
"Jordan, are you actually paying up on the bet?" Garrett asked, surprised.  
  
"No, I'm not going to hold her to that, what kind of guy do you think I am?" Woody said.  
  
"Apparently not the kind who wants to get some" Peter scoffed.  
  
Max shot him an evil glare "That is my daughter you're talking about" Max reminded him.  
  
"Sorry Sir" Peter said looking down.  
  
"So if it's not about the bet, what's going on with you two?" Lily asked excitedly.  
  
Woody and Jordan looked at each other for a long moment then Jordan smiled "I don't know"  
  
"But there is something?" Lily questioned further.  
  
Jordan looked back at Woody "Yeah, there is something" she smiled. Woody grinned happily then looked over to Max to make sure he wasn't planning on killing him and burying him in the backyard for messing with his daughter.  
  
Max seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled and nodded his approval.  
  
"Let's say Grace huh" Max said and everyone joined hands and bowed their heads.  
  
"Father, thank you for the delicious meal we are about to enjoy and for allowing our family to be together today as we give thanks, amen"  
  
Everyone smiled as Max had called them all family. It was turning out to not be such a bad Thanksgiving after all.  
  
"In my family, we always go around the table and each say one thing we're thankful for" Bug suggested.  
  
"Good idea Bug, why don't you start us off since it is your tradition" Max insisted.  
  
"Okay well, I'm thankful that even though I'm not spending Thanksgiving with my  
  
"All right Nigel, that makes it's your turn" Bug said getting the attention off of himself. family this year, I am spending it with people I care about" he said shyly.  
  
Everyone aww'd sarcastically.  
  
"Well not to steal Buggles answer or anything but I am also thankful that I am with my other family today, I love you guys!" he said dramatically.  
  
"Lily" Nigel said.  
  
"I am very thankful that I'm not with my crazy family today and that I with you guys instead, and Garrett and I are together today," she said looking at him and smiling lovingly.  
  
"Guess that makes it my turn" Garrett said smiling back at her. "Well I'm thankful that I've got Lily back in my life, I screwed things up before but that's not going to happen this time" he said taking her hand "In fact, I want to be with her for the rest of our lives" he said slipping down onto one knee on the floor as he pulled out a small box. "Lily, Marry me" He said showing her the ring.  
  
Lily started to cry "Oh my God! Yes, of course I will marry you Garrett!" she said grabbing onto him and hugging him tightly. She covered him in kisses as everyone cheered.  
  
"Okay Peter, you're up" Max instructed.  
  
"Great, how am I supposed to follow that?" he said and everyone laughed.  
  
"Well I'm thankful that I'm finally starting to get my life back together, it was pretty rough going there for a while but it's much better now and a lot of that I have you guys to thank for, so thanks for putting up with my crap"  
  
"Well I'm afraid I've got you beat on that one" Jordan joked. Everybody just smiled. "No really, what I am thankful for is all of you, you've been there for me through everything no matter how self-destructive I got, or how big a pain in the ass I became. I love you all" she said wiping away a tear, as she got a little misty eyed. Woody put his arm around her lovingly and Max gave her hand a little squeeze.  
  
"Mine's quick and easy, I'm just thankful Jordan kissed me" Woody grinned. Lightning the mood.  
  
"Okay, I guess that leaves me" Max said. "I'm thankful that you could all join us today, you guys really are our family and it's nice to have a house full of family around the holidays again"  
  
"Okay, enough of this sentimental crap, let's eat!" Nigel said.  
  
Sorry it took so long to get this up, but you know what they say, better late than never! 


End file.
